The Heart of Gaming

data analysis

Vigilantes are bad for business. Crime used to be the most profitable game in town, back before that “superhero” started interfering. No one knows who she is. No one knows how to stop her. All who have tried before you have failed.

But you are patient. You’ve started making notes of her appearances. Sightings, response times. It isn’t much, but it might be enough. If you can figure out her base of operations, you’ll be one step closer to dealing with her once and for all…

So, yeah. I wrote this game in R. I doubt I’m the first to do that but, hey, it’s weirder than using Python.

This is a mock-up of a game where you test your data analysis skills against a vigilante crimefighter. As a villain on a budget, you’ve gone for the low-hanging fruit. You’ve paid local thugs to commit crimes and time the hero’s response. A simple strategy, but effective. How long can the superhero’s base remain hidden from your patient, data-driven eyes?

Answer: not very long, as it turns out. Even with such noisy data, the neighbourhood in question stands out like a series of rapid response times.

This is not a finished product. Future versions will be trickier, I can promise you that. I have a few ideas on how to take it further – if you have any, feel free to share below. But in the meantime… enjoy! The data is attached below, as is the R code for generating it.